Eat up: Savor the Flavor to feature top foods in Fayetteville
Posted on Friday, September 5, 2008
Every year patrons show up at the registration table at the Walton Arts Center, hoping to grab some last-minute tickets to the Savor the Flavor food tasting event in Fayetteville -- to no avail.
This year, those people might be in luck.
Usually the allotment of 700 tickets for the fundraiser must be purchased in advance, but as of late Tuesday there were still more than 100 tickets available to sample some of the top culinary items from 22 restaurants located along Dickson Street and other downtown locations.
"The economy is hitting [ticket sales] hard,"said Sara Bartlett, the program manager for Faith in Action, the organization that will receive all of the event's proceeds.
With 640 patrons going from table-to-table last year, the event raised more than $54,000 for the nonprofit organization, a program that provides volunteers to help senior citizens who are homebound maintain their independence. The program has more than 170 clients living in Benton and Washington counties.
Despite the lack of ticket sales, Bartlett said she remains hopeful that the event will still be on the verge of selling out -- with walk-up sales -- and will be profitable. The event, which will run from 5-9 p.m. Tuesday, has already collected about $38,000 from sponsorships alone, she said.
"We didn't even talk about raising the price this year,"Bartlett added. "Thirty-five dollars, we thought, was a fair and good price for the whole evening. We left it at that."
New this year is a special party held from 8-10 p.m. at the Walton Arts Center's Starr Theater. The party, which is open to anyone who is wearing the required Savor the Flavor wristband, will feature beer, wine, coffee, soft drinks and hors d'oeuvres with a silent auction taking place in the background. While at the party, for $12, participants can also have their portrait taken with former Arkansas quarterback Quinn Grovey and famed retired UA track coach John McDonnell.
Event organizers decided to have the party after hearing comments from patrons wishing they could go somewhere after they've stuffed themselves silly and mix with friends, Bartlett said.
Thanks to a bus provided by the Central United Methodist Church in Fayetteville and a couple of vans from the Northwest Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute, patrons can take free transportation to the sites off the beaten path of Dickson Street such as Urban Table Bar & Grill located on the Town Square, Loafin' Joe's and the Powerhouse Seafood & Grill.
The 2008 lineup features four new additions: Urban Table Bar & Grill, Taponazos, D's Pizzeria and Gullett's Gourmet. As in year's past, patrons can vote on the venue with the best cuisine, best beverage, best presentation, best kept secret and friendliest service.
Bartlett said she knows what the event's biggest selling point is.
"I think it's definitely getting to go into the environment of every restaurant,"she said. "It's good for the restaurants. They like it because it's actually getting people through their doors. [Patrons] most likely will come back if they enjoy the food and I'm sure they will because this is the best of everything."
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